


She'll do anything

by AlphaNogitsune



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Self-Harm, Yandere AU, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:24:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7823056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaNogitsune/pseuds/AlphaNogitsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter has never lost at games. Even when the bets were high, even when sacrifices had to be made, she always won.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. She loves to hunt

Her idea of love, before him, was that it was a farce, a fairy tale made for girls to chase empty dreams. How could one manage to endure being with only one person?

The thing was beautiful, but it was impossible and void. Until she met him.

His crimson eyes and black hair, his instantaneous smiles, his hoarse voice. The second she saw him, she understood. Her heart raced, wild beating and the feeling of clarity. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She wanted to love him, and she craved for his love.

And she would do anything to have him.

Qrow Branwen was two years older than her, but had failed one year, so he was there, on her school, looking good with that disheveled hair and not well tied necktie.

Winter fell in love.

She was quick to approach him. Although her hands were shaking, their conversation moved on quite smoothly. She only had to wait a bit until they graduated and then they could be together forever. Nothing would stop her. Months passed, he got along with a lot of people on the school, and he liked her…

But then.

Winter started to notice that her love was too close to a certain group of friends. Honestly, she would have no problem with that, if one of those friends were not a girl, a girl who he was _way_ too close to.

Summer Rose.

She was kind, had a very sweet heart, and was beautiful. It was enough to make Winter feel uneasy.  But when she saw Qrow smiling with her, being so close to her, _laughing_ with her…

It made her sick.

Since the first weeks, she started to observe all people that close to him, and people close to that people. She kept one eye on everyone inside the school, from students to teachers, and gathered information on the ones she deemed most important. Soon Winter had details, schedules, info sheets, and a lot planned already. All she could get about anyone went into the board. Their lives and deaths were planned, if she ever needed.

But Summer? She was so good, so innocent, that she had no skeletons on her closet. No secrets, nothing to use against her. Winter’s mind games would be worth nothing without something to pick and torment her with, wouldn’t they?

She had no problem with killing; of course, she was more than capable of doing it. To have her Qrow, anything was worth it. It was just too messy, that was why she would rather play mind games, wreck the person until it was nothing but a living corpse. Even because she never lost at games.

First attempt was very friendly. Just a warning, a burn phone, another number, driving away from home. Summer didn’t care. She was strong.

Things started to escalate. She had scheduled messages. It didn’t work. When she told her friends (Winter included, since she got near their little group), her voice didn’t even shake… Much. They insisted that Summer should take the messages to the police, but she refused to. “I won’t let them get to me, don’t worry. I’ll change my number, though.”

Well, that girl’s bravery (or foolishness) had helped Winter a lot, otherwise she would have to get rid of evidences and get a new cellphone and number. Good Summer, good girl.

She trusted the white-haired one more than she should, enough to give the psycho her new number. Her rival believed they were friends. And, honestly, Winter wanted them to. She would have been a good friend and bridesmaid.

(But her lover was priority, and Summer was caught between them, standing in the way of her happiness.)

The little girl and her Qrow hanged out during lunch; the threats got worse. _“Get away from him or you’ll die soon.”_ Summer didn’t listen. Her love smiled at her in a way he did to no one else, not even herself. Winter was disgusted and made sure to let Summer know she would die.

_“I will kill you, I swear.”_

_“Good luck about that. Qrow and I are best friends and I won’t stop talking to him because of you. Whoever you are, you won’t scare me.”_

Summer lied about that. She admitted to be afraid, to feel under someone’s watch. She was, indeed.

“Don’t worry, Summer. Barking dogs never bite.” The biggest lie she had ever heard. “But, if you want, I might spend the night at your home, keeping you company.” Winter was so shocked and furious to hear _that,_ she ended up choking on her drink. What would they do…? Would he…?

No. _She_ had to be his first woman.

Later, Summer hugged _her Qrow_ and they walked home together. They went home together. He would stay there with a woman that was not Winter. Later at home, the infatuated girl broke a mirror out of anger.

That was the very last straw.

Knowing her rival, she asked for her notebook, under the pretense of comparing notes.  Her true intention was to learn her handwriting. After three hours making it perfect, she made two notes; one asking Summer to meet her in the rooftop anonymously, after the class, and a suicide note. No one went through the rooftop or was on the grounds, where they could see her and Summer.

Summer Rose, one of the purest souls she had ever met. What a shame she had to die.

When the day came, Winter felt anxious and was tempted to go straight to the roof when the time came, but couldn't, so she waited a bit before going to the rooftop. Arriving there, body pulsing with the need to kill, she found Summer looking at her phone, and sneaked behind to see why she was giggling so much.

Pictures. Of her and Winter’s love. Hugging, laughing, and in one of them he was kissing her cheek.

An unfathomable rage took her entire body like a flame that had met gasoline, and without thinking twice, Winter pushed Summer off the roof.

She was so good and kind, that she didn’t even scream while falling or turning her head to see her killer. That was good. Someone who committed suicide did not scream.

To act, Winter screamed while Summer fell. She dropped the fake suicide note and ran down the stairs, while stuffing her gloves on her pockets, to find a way out and go to Summer’s body, pretending to be desperate for her friend who had just jumped to death. When she arrived, her acting had brought fake tears and faltering voice to her, enhancing her “pain”.

Inside, she was laughing out of joy. The blood coming out of the cracked head that had hit a rock was like a death sentence itself. She had no saving. Pleasure coursed through her body, making her shiver, contemplating victory. Her lover was hers now, and hers only.

They offered themselves to go with Winter until she got home, but she refused. She wanted to celebrate as soon as she got home.

Music on her room, a piece of cake, a glass of wine and her mother’s wedding dress. The girl had been adjusting its measurements to her body since she fell in love with her Qrow, hoping to wear it one day.  She dreamed with that day, when they would get married. She would wear diamonds and rubies, he would carry her on his arms and they would kiss… She got shivers of pleasure only thinking about it. He would finally wear a wedding ring with her name on it…

The next day, her headache helped pretending she was actually heartbroken with Summer’s “suicide”. They asked her what happened, handled her the note, and she cried more. She asked about Summer’s group: Taiyang (who had a crush on her, by the way) had not attended school. Raven was there, but left pretty early; so did her man.

She took two classes, pretended to get a stronger headache, and then left, willing to make more adjustments and go to her love’s home and see if he needed some company or support. It was never a bad time to get closer to her Qrow.


	2. They die like angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter has another prey to get rid of, but things take a bad turn.

Killing Summer got Winter advantages, but also brought more problems. Sigh.

They didn’t find out that the suicide thing was actually Winter’s deed. No, she had planned everything too well for that. The problem was that, now, she had to deal with Raven, since _she_ was becoming quite the threat.

There were two reasons for such. One was that she was starting to get in their way.

Since Rose’s death, Winter had been getting closer to her love and his friends; she was trying to get everyone together only for his sake, helping them with whatever it was that they needed. She called them and offered to show up on their houses to make sure they were okay; all of that was part of her façade. It was all for him; the others could die for all she cared.

However, when they were planning on going out just the two of them, which had Winter crazy over what her love would appreciate more in matters of clothing, she got a text from him. Basically, he was cancelling their evening.

Because of Raven.

_“She has a crush on Tai, you know, but he loved Summer too much. And he sent her a pretty heartbreaking text. Not his intention, he is pretty much dense when it comes to realizing my sister loves him, but is a good heart nonetheless.”_

_“However, now she is crying on her room and I feel like I have to stay and take care of her. Sorry, Win. I’m really sorry, but we’ve been taking it really hard these last days.”_

She even tried to save a bit of their evening, to no avail.

_“Do you want my help? I can drop by and take something for you two.”_

_“No, I guess we need some alone time.”_

She broke her glass on her hand after that and almost tainted her mother’s precious dress. Winter used to sew and adjust it whenever she was happy, too excited or anxious; it helped her to relax. But she was so furious that a better option was to prick her skin with the needle countless times.

Winter had always been jealous of her lover with any woman, but never really saw Raven as a problem. After all, they were siblings, which meant Qrow would never see her as a possible love interest. But the woman was starting to take her man from her, something unbearable and unacceptable.

 And if that was not enough, there was the second reason: Raven intended on investigating Summer’s death herself.

“Do you think you can do it?”

“Well, I have to try, and Qrow will help me. I’ve known Summer for years; there is no reason for her to just kill herself. She was so happy…”

“Raven, suicidal people can hide their intentions. She must have hid it, to avoid worrying you and Qrow. Please, it will only hurt you more.” Winter tried to play it off; she could not, _would not_ , deal with her digging around the circumstances on the girl’s suicide.

That woman was intelligent, _very_ intelligent. Raven would end up finding some clue, some loose end that would end Winter’s game. Intelligent AND persistent. On her definition, an annoyance.

One she would soon get rid of, obviously.

It was also Summer’s fault. Even after her death, she was messing things, influencing people and putting her and her Qrow apart. Now someone else had to die. She admitted it, killing Raven made her a bit sad. She knew how much Qrow loved his sister, she wanted Raven to be her bridesmaid, and Winter wanted to attend to her sister-in-law’s wedding too, having her future husband with her. But that would soon become impossible.

Like Summer Rose, Raven herself didn’t have any dark secrets, anything she could use to break her new rival’s mind _yet_ , but she would get something. She would investigate and find out. She could use her crush on Tai… Yes, but she’d need more. Something to push the woman out of the edge.

While she didn’t find out, she’d go for her usual game.

She started to send messages, telling Raven things to make her scared and paranoid, at the same time she watched her entire life, making sure to keep up with school. It was easy, actually, and nothing new to Winter. Also slightly tiring, but until she got what she wanted, that was how it was going to be.

One day, while watching her lover’s house, hidden on her car, waiting to see something interesting (him, maybe?), the white-haired girl spotted his sister leaving. She was looking good, with a short and tight black dress, and her hair up. Also, high heels.

Where would she go? Winter, of course, followed, because whatever Raven had to do out of her home, at that hour, with that look, was definitely not good. And anything “not good” would become perfect for Winter. Well, she had found out something pretty fast, hadn’t she?

Her path took them to one of the most crowded spots on the city during nightlife, life buzzing everywhere, and it was necessary for Winter to leave her vehicle in order to keep up with her prey; however, the people coming and going would hide her well. The cold air hit her face and she rolled up the scarf tighter around her neck, glad it would also hide her identity.

And Raven stood in front of a hotel, waiting for someone, clearly. But whom? Maybe Taiyang?

No, it was not. And it made Winter’s jaw drop in shock and amusement.

It was an old man, seemed like some kind of rich manager, who had _at least_ twice Raven’s age. Well, was she a prostitute? Or just engaging on compensating dating? (There _is_ a difference, right?) Either one would end up being very, deliciously, scandalous.

Winter knew it was not much, but she’d been piling up tension and fear on Raven’s mind for days already. She was growing impatient; why were there so many troubles on the way of her happy ending? She longed for action.

And then she was delighted, taking dozens of pictures, one after another. That was just _great_. Wouldn’t it be even better if she got more pictures, with different men? It would prove that Raven had that as a regular habit, and she would have a bunch of evidence to destroy her life.

And she did. She did it again, two nights later, with a boy, probably their age. Four nights later, with a woman, this time, only two or three years older than her. Winter didn’t need anything more than that. Why had that suddenly started, didn’t really matter at all to her.

At school, Raven showed signs of being miserable. Miraculously, she did not tell Qrow or Winter or Taiyang about her bullying, (which made her effort to not be tracked kind of useless) perhaps out of shame? Or, maybe, fear that the person might go after her if she told anyone? Or was she trying to be strong?

Beautiful, poor Raven… What a shame she had to be so nosy and an annoyance.

Well, it was time. Raven was pretty messed up. Time to act.

Winter, as usual, was prodding at the sister’s heartbreak, how she was just miserable and how it would be better if she just killed herself, when she sent three samples to the girl, waiting for her priceless reaction.

The psychopath’s heart was beating strongly with anxiety, she was feeling one incredible rush of power and insanity into her veins. She felt like laughing out loud and, to keep her mind more tamed, her nails were scratching her arms and thighs; it burnt into her flesh. But Winter was just so happy, she didn’t care.

_“What is this? Isn’t this you?”_

_“No… Where did you find this?”_

_“Wouldn’t it be soooo bad if Qrow or Taiyang… Accidentally… Stumbled upon this? Or even the entire school?”_

_“Please, don’t. My brother would be so ashamed, Tai would never look at me again…”_

_“Is this a challenge?”_

_“Don’t you dare.”_

Raven didn’t even know that it was all a waste of time. The entire school had the pictures before that conversation had even started.

_“Already did. Well, now you have one choice.”_

_“Wait and see to how disgusted they are with you, or kill yourself right now to avoid seeing people, and your love, hating you with their guts.”_

_“In the end, no one would miss you, anyway. Good night.”_

She drove out of her house and threw the chip away after smashing its circuit. Then she hanged around the town for a while, trying to relax her nerves. She was so anxious. She wanted to see Raven’s body lying dead, blood getting colder with each second, her eyes lost into infinity, her skin growing pale…

How would she kill herself? Perhaps cutting her wrists? If so, she should cut them on the vertical, other than crossing the wrist from side-to-side. That way was less effective and more painful. Or would she overdose? Then she should drink it down with some alcohol; it would increase the toxicity of whatever medicine she took. Medicines on their own weren’t the best way to die, anyway, so it was better to be sure it would kill.

The consciousness she would never again pose a threat to her and her lover on any level made her feel the same satisfaction that took her when she saw Summer’s blood. She wanted to celebrate, but first she had to wait for the confirmation Raven was dead. And it came.

Next day, her man didn’t show up at the school. Police did, instead. They called the professors and the students closer to her prey to see what they could find out, Winter included.

She did not worry about it. They did not have her as a suspect, yet they were trying to find out if Raven just had previous suicidal thoughts or was _driven_ to suicide and someone made it look like she killed herself.

In the end, Winter told what she would have thought if she was just anotherone of her friends. “She looked depressed, but never mentioned anything. I thought it was because of Summer’s death and Taiyang rejecting her, but I was wrong… God, I feel so guilty…” And they bought it. Easy.

As soon as the classes were over, she went to her Qrow’s house. He would be heartbroken, and she wanted to take care of him. She wanted to tell him everything would be fine, _she_ would make everything fine for him, but it had to get worse first. She wanted to say that they would be together forever and she would never leave him, she wanted to tell him about her undying love and all of the sacrifices she had made…

One thing went through her mind in that second.

All of the women who were noticeably close to her love ended up dead. It was clearly someone targeting the girls close to him; otherwise, other victims would have shown up already. If someone unrelated to him was targeted and died now, after two deaths, it would be clearly an attempt of dismissing the police, and would only draw more attention. If a man close to him (on this case, Taiyang) was targeted and died, it would not erase the true problem, only made it worse.

She was a woman. She was close to Qrow.

Winter would have to hunt herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, unbeta'd and my english is kinda sloppy. Let me know if there are any mistakes? :3 Thanks for reading!  
> Next chapter: She becomes the prey. See you soon!


	3. She becomes the prey

There were a lot of flaws on that plan, and she was angry for not predicting that. But killing Raven wasn’t part of her intentions at first; she only really needed to kill Summer, she was the real threat to the consummation of her love.

His sister, however, was intelligent, and could push them away, as she had unconsciously done already. So Winter had to get rid of her.

She didn’t regret, not even close. The thing was that, if she just stopped chasing girls that her man cared for right when Winter and him got closer, then it’d be obvious she was the culprit. Now, she had to continue.

Damn Raven, she had made things harder. Because of her stubbornness and insistence on chasing the truth, now she lied six feet under by her friend’s side. Good thing dead people could not tell secrets.

She gritted her teeth and rolled the girls’ info sheets, closing the papers to the fire she had lit on her oven. She had to get rid of the last evidences, and be careful with it. Whenever she started to plot her next actions, the psychopath easily got lost in thoughts.

Well, what could she do? There was no escaping the “hunting herself” part, but it would become tiring on the long term. That was one flaw. The other was that she would have to give her cellphone for the police; after all, Summer and Raven had died from the same cyber bulling she would have to undergo. If she decided to play brave as well, it would be stupid.

She also couldn’t just stop her hunt. She would have to start and continue it, even if she “failed” on killing herself, because if one person had so much dedication to do what she did just to wreck some girls, it would not give up on one failed attempt.

Winter had to find a way to be both hunter and hunted constantly. If it ever happened of her being tracked…

Imagining the disgust look on her lover’s face made her feel sick.

The thing was, if they got close to find out, and they probably would with her phone, she would have to give someone else so she would not have to play that game forever. She needed a scapegoat.

(And, to make matters worse, there was the problem about other women with her Qrow on the future… If “the culprit” got arrested, it could not hunt any longer; which meant that, to end that annoying game, she would have to endure having future whores around her man. But at least then they would be together and that reduced the chances of him being stolen from her significantly.)

_It’s more exciting when I don’t know what my prey is about to do._ She felt heat near her fingertips and let go of the burning roll that was almost hurting her.

Who could she give as her hunter? Stepping on the sheets to put out the fire, thousands of options went through her head, but none of them was decent. None of them had a reason.

Then one idea popped up.

Could she… Brainwash some girl into thinking like her, acting like her, and taking her place?

Yes, that could work. But Winter had no idea how to brainwash someone, only how to break someone. Was it similar in any way? She doubted there was research that could actually help, and she didn’t want to rely on TV shows and books. They might be accurate or not, and she didn’t want to risk breaking her scapegoat.

But she could try.

*

She let a few days pass after her decision of who’d be her fake killer to send the first text. People were already talking about how close she and her Qrow had got after his sister’s death, so she thought it was a good time to start.

She scheduled the first days of messages on one night, and then analyzed the info she had on her next victim. Aurora Fierce. She was a pretty girl… No, calling her pretty was an understatement. She was incredibly beautiful. Qrow had mentioned he liked her appearance, but said he didn’t want anything with such a “rich” girl. That was why Winter had restrained on killing Aurora, even because they never had talked. Now she was thankful on restraining.

Well, at least the psycho was smart enough to keep a more detailed info compilation on her. There was a rumor about her liking Qrow as well, but thinking too low of him for trying. And _that_ pissed off Winter. (At the same time it made her relieved. Go figure.)

_How can she think low of him? He is such a god…_ She sighted dreamily as the image of her lover distracted her. _Such a perfect man. The only one I will ever love. She does not deserve him. She does not appreciate him like I do, not nearly enough._

But that was good, that minor crush. Would be easier to push Winter’s mindset into Aurora’s mind like that. She just needed to find a blank spot on the blonde’s routine to kidnap her. Or make one.

Meanwhile, the days passed, she got messages and messages from, well, herself, and her man already showed some signs of worry. She managed to tranquilize him by telling him she would get rid of her cellphone and block unknown numbers, yet he was uncomfortable.

“That’s what Summer said. I don’t want you ending up like they did…” His other thoughts remained unspoken, as a flash of guilt seemed to take him.

“I won’t. I promise, okay? And you know I don’t make promises I cannot keep.”

Her love was beating himself up over their deaths; not only he was sad already, but he was perceptive enough to realize they both were connected to him and died for that. Or “perhaps” he was being paranoid. (But, in both situations, he was right.)

It broke her heart. It was never her intention to hurt him, only the opposite. She just wanted to eliminate the obstacles so they could be happy together; it was what lovers did. But he was sad now, and Winter got infuriated she couldn’t kill his sadness.

However, she could continue with her plan and make sure there would be no one else to stop their happy ending.

And so she did. When the girls were showering after Physical Education, she “accidentally” stumbled on her locker and took the chance to steal one earring and necklace. They were expensive and pretty, and if the necklace didn’t draw the girl close, the earring would; it was much harder to replace. No other girl noticed, so she could relax.

They finished the shower quickly, and their day too. They studied in different classes, so she could use the excuse of not seeing her for the rest of the day to justify that she did not give her jewelry back before they left. Easy.

Later on, she analyzed the info she had gathered during the week. Aurora had a convenient party just that night, one that Winter was sure it’d last until wee hours of morning. It was just how those kids worked, and she was glad for that.

So her plan was to return to her house, do her homework, eat something, and prepare her stuff. She had some stuff at her home, sleeping pills that would knock her prey out for some time. She didn’t know where to get knock-out drugs, so Winter had to use what she had.

While making her homework, she had to stop solely to lay down and think of her love. Earlier that day, she had offered him a ride to his home, because it was easier than following him from afar to make sure he’d be okay. And those little minutes with him were amazing, but no better than when he leaned on to give her a hug.

His perfume, his chin on her shoulder, his hand on her waist, the warm passing through their clothes or skin, Winter practically short-circuited while he thanked her and left her car. She could only wave her hand and smile weakly as he left.

Lately she had been feeling a bit down, due to problem after problem showing on her way; why couldn’t a girl just be with the person she loved? But that hug he gave her was enough to remind her why she was going through all of that, and to make it all worth it. _He_ was all worth it, and she was willing to do more now. If she had, she would cut Aurora’s head off with a simple knife. He merely had to ask.

So she wanted to let herself indulge in the happiness of their little moment, but there was a job waiting. In order to have him all to herself (and then have more happy moments with him) she had to continue and achieve her goal. There would be time to daydream about her man later.

Mixing the sleeping pills with the water and grabbing the jewelry, she left the house and called her victim. The obnoxiously loud music made it almost impossible for them to understand each other, but a few seconds later the music got muffled. She sounded drunk. Good.

“Ahn, hello, Aurora. Busy?”

_“Uhm, hi, Winter… I’m just trying to ignore that there is a bit of a headache popping up… Do you need anything?”_

“Well, I found your stuff, and I couldn’t find you at school after the showers today, so… Could we meet so I can give them back or do you rather wait until Monday?” There. Her bait was up. If luck was on her side…

_“You found it! Thank you so much! Also, you’re so giving me an excuse to leave sooner… I’m loving it and getting so wasted, but I’m afraid my head will blow tomorrow. Let’s meet somewhere quiet, please?”_ Winter had to hold back her smile. Smiles came through in the voice; she’d be able to tell, and there was no reason for her interlocutor to smile. Not like that.

“What about the park near school? It’s always pretty quiet and there’s a square near…” She breathed in. Her entire plan was set up on that park. If it went wrong…

“ _I was just thinking about it. Okay then. Meet you there!”_

There. The place, the situation, and her condition, everything was favorable to her scheme. Aurora was so drunk and it was so late it would not seem odd for her to pass out, neither for a friend to take her home. She was willing to go, so no one could say Winter had forced or attracted her into this meeting, since she always had the option to decline and wait for Monday. And there would be little to no people passing by.

She was anxious to see her plan come to fruition, for, once more, she had everything on her side. All for her love.

The drive to the park was quick, or perhaps she was too anxious to pay attention to time. That would justify how Aurora got there so quickly after her, while she was distracted thinking about her lover’s smile and how much she wanted to see it more often.

“Hello, Aurora. Are you feeling well?” She asked as her scapegoat dropped herself on the bench by her side.

“Awful. I knew there was a headache coming…”

“Well, I brought your things. They’re really pretty, by the way.”

“Thanks… My father bought them to me.” She placed her earring on one ear, despite already having put another pair on. She did have two holes on her earlobe… That made a quick thought of piercing her body countless times with a knife go through Winter’s mind.

“Also, I have water. Might help you.” She offered the bottle, tension rising inside her.

“That’s really nice… Thanks.” Innocently, Aurora took a sip of the liquid. She had to hold back the pleasure at the sight.

_You’re mine._

“No need to thank me.” Then the two fell into an odd silence for a few minutes, only until her company decided to speak.

“I see you’ve got pretty close to Qrow lately…” Her speech was getting sloppy and messed. “He and I… We have a past. Not much compared to what you probably want, but…”

“What do you mean with ‘a past’?” That part got her. And made her furious.

“I mean we fooled around a bit. He’s good, but for something quick. Maybe we didn’t have a connection…”

Thankfully she fell asleep seconds later, and Winter indulged to hitting her head on the concrete bench just a bit.

Her body was a bit heavy, but nothing impossible to carry. One quick look around, no one had seen them. She only had to go home and tie her up, then call it a night.

The drive home was no calmer than going to the park, because the thrill of having Aurora passed out on her backseat was almost too much. So she had to pause and calm herself, because it was not on her plan getting involved in an car accident after getting that girl. Also, it would keep her from seeing her love every day, and that was unacceptable.

Once at home, she dragged her body up to the attic and tied her legs, arms, waist and shoulders to the plastic-wrapped chair. She had recently found it, and it was fancy, probably expensive and meaningful to her father, and Winter wanted to avoid having any bloodstains on it. She also placed a gag on her prisoner’s mouth and organized the tools she’d use for her torture later, if she needed.

Hopefully it wouldn’t have to get physical; Winter could use sleep deprivation, hunger, thirst and gaslighting to break and mold Aurora as she needed. But seeing her scapegoat all tied up and at her mercy brought her a strong wave of pleasure. It was not nearly as brutal as Summer’s head cracked up, but there was a charm to it. Some unique beauty. Winter wanted to hear every single bone of hers cracking.

Her last touch was a blindfold, tight into the girl’s face, and then she went back to her room, satisfied. She hoped no one heard the maniacal laughter Winter muffled into a pillow before she drifted into a sleep filled with her lover’s smiles and warmth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter took long? Yea, next ones will take MUCH longer. Believe me, I am sorry, but I have tests to take and they have NO MERCY.  
> Anyway, I'm thinking about making two endings, one bad and one good. You can choose if Winter gets Qrow or not.  
> Any mistakes, let me know? See you on the next chapter!


	4. Her pain

 Winter, since her very birth, was a quiet, abnormal child. That much was clear. But her father never discussed about taking her to a psychologist with her mother, or tried to make her have emotions towards anything. He just… Let her be.

Later, when the girl realized that her lack of emotion disturbed people, she started to pretend being normal, to avoid drawing attention. It took time, but she figured it out eventually, and no one realized that it was just a persona.

But, when they were alone, Jacques would tell her to stop pretending, if she wanted to. “I know how you are already. No need to be fake around me, sweetie.”

Her mother also never bothered about it; despite her daughter’s emotionless behavior, Willow Schnee adored her eldest offspring and was almost as devoted to her as she was to her husband. “She’ll… Grow out of it, I’m sure. You’ll see!”

She didn’t grow out of it. It was more like being pulled out of it.

But one thing that usually came to her mind when thinking about her parents was why, exactly, they never really bothered about checking her up. Her mother, perhaps, could have been too hopeful; but her father was not. If anything, he was resigned. Why he never insisted on the idea of fixing her, even when it was clear it bothered him?

Well, that was a problem for another day. At that moment, she was going to the cemetery, because Qrow was going there too, and she wanted to be with her love.

It was a holiday, and when she asked what plans he had, her man said he’d go to see Summer and Raven. If it weren’t for school, Winter would not have any notion of time, so she was quite surprised to realize it was almost two months ago that she had killed the petite girl, and three weeks since Raven’s suicide. She should keep a better eye at the dates…

Well, of course, if he was going to the cemetery, so would she, although she didn’t like him being in such a morbid place… Well, Winter could use the excuse of her late mother, if he asked. But she was there for him, just as she’d be anywhere else. That girl could drive to the end of the world if he asked.

On her way, she saw all the symbols that people dedicated to their loved ones. Those always seemed like a waste of space and money, but now… She started to see the care behind that, how much those people were missed. She might even do it to her family when they died...

She probably wouldn’t do that for her love, because if he ever died, she would kill herself on the next day. Winter could no longer imagine any prospect of her life without him, no reason to move on; she loved him to the very end, with all of her soul. He made her human with his mere presence. She loved him, loved the things he made her feel. She did not want to see a world without her love anymore.

There were two parts of the cemetery, one with the statues, epitaphs, and everything else, which was the oldest part, and the newer part, with more simple gravestones; there was grass and some trees, so the tense feeling stayed a bit behind, giving the place a more peaceful atmosphere.

While going through the newer area (that was not so new), she saw her mother’s grave, the localization and name familiar to her, and thought of stopping by… But that didn’t matter for now, and she would have time later. There were priorities. The living before the dead, and her Qrow before all the living.

Her love (dressed in a black nice suit, fitting each muscle of that god-like body) was currently talking to Summer’s grave, and while a part of her was curious to know what he was saying, she did not wish to get angry at the moment. She was there for him, only, not to get mad. So she stayed behind, next to a tree, watching her man from afar, as she did in the start, marveling on that beautiful sight.

Every move he made gave her a warm shiver of fondness. His laughter, his shoulders moving, the way his weight shifted from one leg to another, his hand fixing minimal details on his suit and ruffling his hair, making the perfect even more perfect. That made her soul overflow with love.

But only a fool would ignore the true reason why he was here. Only an idiot would not see his hand wiping tears away, and it broke her to be unable to comfort him. She felt awful when she saw the rose he left on her grave. And to hear his crying…

It was so clear, he didn’t have to say it. Yet he did, out loud, and it felt like a stab into Winter’s back. Multiple times. Crippling her. Killing her.

Qrow loved her. Loved Summer.

Heartbreak.

Was that what she felt…?

It was an awful pain irradiating from her heart to the rest of her chest, her guts wrenching and she felt like throwing up. She felt like crying, she felt like stabbing herself, she felt like bleeding to death. She could feel her being weakening and needed to back off, before her feelings overwhelmed her and she broke definitely…

She turned around, ready and willing to leave so she could cry her soul out in her bed. But something must have captured his attention somehow, because seconds later she heard his beautiful, hoarse voice calling her.

“Oh, hi, Winter. Didn’t know you were here.” She turned on her feet and looked at her man, dressed head to toe in black, eyes reddish from crying. Even like that, he was beautiful. “I’m… Sorry you have to see me like this. I thought I was alone.”

On that moment, she pushed her own pain away. He was always her priority, and if he was sad, she would comfort him; his pain caused her pain too. Her very world crumbled apart if he was not okay.

So she walked to him and held his face dearly; his weak smile was so worth it… Her thumbs cleaned the moisture off his face before she pulled her love into a hug.

“You can cry on my shoulder if you need, you know.” He let out a bit of a laugh.

“Yeah, thanks.” But the laugh was replaced by sobbing.

She wanted to tell her love it was almost over; if everything was on their side, she only needed to finish a little mind remolding, then go through a bit of pain and they would be finally on the way to their happiness. Winter wanted to tell him that she would soon make him happy, just as he made her happy.

As Qrow stood again, eyelids shut close and breathing a bit ragged, she wiped away her own tears, which the younger one only shed to ease that cruel pain. And when those pinkish-red, wonderful eyes finally bored into hers, she saw surprise.

“Did you also cry?” His hands on her face… What an amazing feeling. She held back a sigh of delight, the warm touch pushing her heartbreak away. How ironic was it that he was the pivot of her pain and also her cure…

“Uhm… A bit. But that does not matter now. I came to… See them and make you company. I thought it might be better for us to-”

“Ah.” Only the sound of leaves moved by the wind filled that uncomfortable pause. Again, he did the hand thing, but it did not help her this time. “I… Actually wished to be alone today. It’s been a while… And I need some space.”

And the heartbreak came again, full strength, and Winter had to swallow her shriek of agony.

The love of her life had just said he did not want her near him. He wanted to be alone.

She should have not taken that so personally, but she did. She did and it was crushing her, the knowledge that he loved Summer, suffered for her and wanted to be alone (probably _with her_ ) was too much to bear.

“… Okay.”

She left for her mother’s grave, wishing she had a knife with herself to tear her heart out and stop the maddening pain.

Her mom would listen. If she was there, Willow probably would keep petting her child’s hair and listen carefully as the girl cried. She needed to talk to someone who could understand… Her mother probably would comprehend the situation, right? And even if she didn’t, she’d be there. In a way.

(When she was younger, Winter noticed that her mother’s grave was one of the few that did not have a statue, even though she was on the newer grounds. Instead, there was only a gravestone. “Willow Schnee, loving mother and wife.” She assumed, using her expertise gathered so far, that it was too clinical to be considered true.

_“Why does Mom only have a stone and other people have statues, Father?”_

_“Do you… Care? If she does not have one?”_ His answer was low, not to wake up 5-year-old Weiss sleeping out of tiresome on his shoulder.

 _“No. I am just curious.”_ Her father was clearly disappointed by the answer, but not surprised. Well, years raising her… Kind of mined his hope to an almost end.

 _“If you want me to be honest… I don’t think she deserves an angel. It does not suit who your mother was.”_ )

“Hi, mom.” Winter sat on the ground, face wet with the tears recently shed. She felt like every shard of her heart was dilacerating her insides. She hoped to see blood at any time. “Oh, if only you knew all the story…”

She pulled her knees up, hugging her slender legs. How could it be? How could such a cold, heartless girl have such a twist into her life and mind, and be able to experience such new, devastating things like love and pain… Just for a man?

But Qrow was not ‘just a man’ to her. He was everything.

“Mom, there is so much I want to tell you… So much... I am not like I was before… Empty. I found a reason to live now. I fell in love.”

Her body was shaking very slightly with the crying, and she stopped quickly to control herself and be able to speak clearly.

“There is this guy who I came here for… And, mom, I love him so much! My entire life, it feels like the point to it is to love him wholeheartedly… He is the only thing that matters to me!… But-”

She couldn’t even speak when the memories flooded her mind. To think that he told her to, pretty much, leave him alone hurt so much it made her cry instantly. It felt like she was running out of air and there was no way to recover it. He took all of it with him.

“… But he loves another girl.” A quick break to cry and calm down before continuing. “And she is dead, mom. She is dead but he cannot let her go, so I have to watch him heartbroken for her… Knowing that I could love him and heal him, but he doesn’t love me back…”

Her nails dug into her arms’ skin, her tears dropped on her black dress, and the more she cried, the more it relieved and worsened.

“This is such a dead end… He loves her, but she is gone, and he doesn’t love me… I want his smile back, but it was never mine… And she took it away… Why does love hurt so much, mom?”

_Does he have to find another woman? Someone like Summer?_

If he was happy, a part of her was also happy… Even if the other part agonized so much. The only thing she couldn’t agree with was another woman. Because she was also a woman who could make him happy… He could also love her…

Right?

(When did the subject become his happiness?...)

Again, the idea of him rejecting her heart because of the girls killed Winter, and she cried again. She only wanted him to love her and be happy.

_How can I be so selfish? His happiness should be above mine! I should have let him be happy with her…_

But that thought brought forward boiling, pure anger. What if what made her happy and what made him happy never became the same thing? What if there was no future for both of them, no common denominator for their happiness?...

She screamed out her tortured heart, muffling it on her hands. Why was love so confusing? Her lips trembling and her heart hurting, she kneeled and got ready to leave. There was no reason for her to continue suffering there; she needed to do something, anything, just to ease the storm inside her chest…

But a pair of strong arms pulled her smaller body into a strong, guilty hug.

It was him; she would know his suit, his hands, his smell. Her love was pressing his face on her shoulder again, his chest against her back, his warmth irradiating through clothes and teasing her. The feeling of his embrace was always perfect, but on that situation, it made her feel like Heaven and Hell at the same time.

Yet she pulled his arms tighter around her.

“I am so sorry. I never imagined…” Qrow sounded so broken. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Winter… Never…”

More tears dropped on their arms. This time, she cried for love. How could she _not_ love him?... He went there just for her. He looked for her.

“It’s okay… It’s my fault, for wrapping my head over it…” Her voice was broken and his quick laughter was empty.

Winter knew she caused him more pain than good in the process of having him to herself, so it was just fitting she’d be on the receiving end of that pain for once, as a way to pay for her sins. She’d go through it all, though, if it meant he’d be hers at the end.

Their hug went on for a bit of time, and in the end, her lover’s presence healed a good dose of her pain (and both looked like crap). They couldn’t even look at each other without laughing, because of their disastrous looks.

“Oh, my God.” She wanted to caress that adorable face… “I’m really sorry, Winter… I’m such an idiot.”

“No, it’s my bad too, Qrow, and I’m much better now. It’s okay, it’s over.”

“Even then, I feel like I was a bit rude.” Her man pushed a strand of hair out of her face, and butterflies fluttered inside of her body. “You came on your car, right? Let’s go somewhere and I can make it up to you. You choose the place.”

She felt her heartbeat race. That, right there, was a unique chance. He was basically asking her out! And she wanted to be with him… So why refuse?

But something about him was off. His eyes were opaque. She didn’t want him to be uncomfortable around her.

“If you’re okay with it, I can take you home.” He seemed a bit sad with her answer, but shrugged and accepted. They left her mother’s grave together, and she held back her will to hold hands with him. Unless he did it, she would not take the first step. Everything on her lover’s pace.

During their ride to his home, he did seem uncomfortable by her side, so she tried to arrive and drop him off as fast as she could, even though her wish was to keep him there forever.

“Your mother… You were really attached to her, right?”

“We were.” Lies. “She was… My best friend and mother alike. She dreamt with the day I’d find a person who I loved… And I wished I had her with me now…” Winter didn’t know how much of her crying Qrow had heard; so she’d avoid touching directly on the love issue while that wasn’t clear.

“I’m so sorry for you.”

“Thank you, but please, don’t.” He was so kind… “I’m sorry for messing up your time with Summer.”

“You didn’t. Guess I needed someone to pull me out, anyway… It’s slightly self-destructive for me.” She took a second look at the black wristband he now had. Wasn’t that new? “And I pushed you away.”

“Look, I said it was okay. If you needed space, you did right. I’m the one who thought too much over such a simple thing.” She was not lying on that matter. And she was sorry. “On a lighter note, you are almost graduating… Will the senior classes have a prom?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty much what everyone’s been discussing on my class. But, if we don’t, everyone’s going to order a pizza and get together to watch terror movies.”

“And do you have someone in mind to go with you?” She smiled, hopeful.

“Well… The girl I had in mind… Was Summer.” A stab into her heart. Winter was glad she had killed the girl, then. “But now that she’s gone, I’ll analyze my new options. Or I’ll just go alone, or not even go at all. Parties aren’t really my thing.”

“You should go. It’s… Special.” They arrived at his house minutes later, and she parked, so many things to ask and tell him but so little time.

“Here you are. See you at school tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” Yet, her lover didn’t leave. He kept looking at her hand on the steering wheel… And inclined to hug her again.

They were more familiar with the situation, so it was easier for them to hug than the first time. His arm went around her waist and she hugged his shoulders, naturally moving to meet each other.

And he kissed her forehead.

Compared to the first days around him, Winter was much more confident, being around her lover and interacting with him. But that… That demonstration of such intimate care… She felt so good, so blessed… She felt in Heaven.

What a turn of events.

“I’m still sorry.” Qrow whispered, and she felt like melting on his arms. _Please, don’t leave. Kiss me. Stay with me._

“Don’t be.”

His lips lingered on her forehead, almost as if they got too lost in time to end that moment. She let her fingers caress his neck and relaxed against him, feeling the little kiss and the circles his thumb drew against her waist. As they separated, she felt dreamy and her mind overflowed with light.

“Thanks for bringing me here. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then, he left her car and an adoring Winter behind.

Well, that day was a very interesting one. She had found out a more painful side of her love, one that made her powerless and weak.

Whenever another woman loved Qrow, she got furious. But, now that she knew that her man loved, beyond friendship, another woman… She didn’t get angry. She got so, so sad. Melancholic. That moment, pain took her being, and all of her strength drained out. She felt like dying. Her life felt pointless again.

But her anger and sadness would be a good fuel, she thought with herself, while taking off the black shoes and going upstairs. She had an Aurora to finish breaking.

It was quite the complex system. She didn’t sleep, eat or drink properly; she was blindfolded, had earpieces playing horrific sounds and random screams most of the time, drowned in water and soup if she fell asleep and was almost immobilized. Therefore, her energy to think straight was slowly decimated.

Every day, at least once, the white-haired girl would go into the attic and repeat a series of questions with “certain” answers, all things related to her lover. It was a long roll, without a proper order (so she wouldn’t be able to memorize it easily) and every time she messed something up, she got tortured. The repetition was meant to make Aurora’s mind more alike Winter’s, driving her thoughts and reasoning to be similar.

The kidnapper would also keep telling her stuff to mess her mind more, creating an entire new reality for the blonde girl. To Aurora, time wasn’t important and she didn’t know for how long she was there; she had agreed to anything her companion did to her, for the sake of ending the lies she lived in, and she madly loved and wanted Qrow to herself, only believed she didn’t.

Complex. But, if it worked, she would be an authentic psychopath, fueled by love, and willing to kill Winter for the sake of her own happy ending. And she had results already, promising results.

“Hello, Aurora.” Slowly, the blonde head lifted in her direction. “Ready for another session?”

She breathed in calmly, as if getting ready to embrace the pain she would soon go through.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was... Not as good as the others. I admit. Therefore, I shouldn't be posting it, but these last weeks have been pretty crushing, and I believe they've configured not only/mainly into stress, but into a major block. This chapter ended up being the most pleasing to me, because I couldn't get anything done on the other versions of it. Hope it's still enjoyable. Also took the chance to develop backstory lol.  
> See you in the next chapter ;)


	5. Her death is near

Winter was losing control, gradually. She had harmed herself countless times, didn’t feel like stopping yet and would have to wear her uniform jacket to go to school the next day. (She prayed for cold weather…)

Looking at all the pictures of her love made her feel weak; her mind was fuzzy and she was likely to cry and pass out on top of her geography homework. Taking the needle and a sip of wine, she punctured her forearm three times, feeling the muscle contracting in protest.

_Why does Qrow hate me now?_

She had expected that both of them would grow closer after the cemetery incident (which took place two days ago). It was only logical, if he had seen her in such an emotional state, that they would be more intimate by now.

But no, they were not. Instead, her beloved seemed to be pushing her even further away, acting hastily and rude towards her.

On the first day after the holiday, her lover left their little spot at the plaza two minutes after her arrival. She had barely exchanged a hello with him, and he barely did anything before he just left the place and not even looked back or said goodbye.

“What is wrong with him?”

“Qrow is pretty tense recently…” Taiyang muttered, looking quite distracted with his phone. She felt his lie. “I guess it’s the upcoming exams. The guy can’t wrap his head around some stuff.”

She let him be, and decided to small talk about things, pretending to be okay with her love’s departure, and not actually startled that he left because of her.

The next day was even worse. She watched them from afar, and both seemed exasperated over something, barely changing words, and when doing so, her love did so in quite a rude way, as if they had just quarreled. His friend just seemed tired.

She held a bit of insignificant small talk with the blonde one; he felt the tension in the air, saw that it made her uneasy and tried to help her relax. He was a good friend, and she felt sad for taking his romantic interests away. They chatted quickly before she turned to her man, studying Biology.

“What are you studying now, specifically?” He was tense.

“Boring things.”

“Do you understand it, at least?” Her joke was ineffective. No sign of humor reached to his eyes or mouth; a mere negative shake of his head was the answer.

Tai’s leg was shaking madly by her side; on the other hand, Qrow seemed made of steel. They felt so tense, and for the first time, she felt uncomfortable around her lover.

“Well, maybe I can help somehow...” She used her friendliest undertones to soft him out and her hand touched his knee ever so casually, as if it was common for them. “Group studying, what do you think?”

Those astonishing red eyes closed for a few seconds, and Winter thought he was considering the idea. He would accept, they would meet, try to study and fail epically, then they would spend the rest of their time together just watching movies and being close to one another…

And her fantasies crushed on the ground when he shook his leg and knocked her hand away.

“I’m bad at group studying.”

That.

He could have said and acted in any other way. He could have removed her hand with his own, just placing it away; he could have just said no, or even “I’m not good at group studying”. Just a mere change of words would have made it sound better than the crude answer she got.

Her heart clutched so painfully the psycho swallowed, trying to force the knot on her throat to undo, and pretty much jumped to her feet, her steps hurriedly taking her away from him.

She was shaking by the time she got to the corridor, and arriving at the bathroom without dismantling in tears was quite a feat.

Then she cried enough to get a headache and leave early.

Maybe it’s just stress, she told herself. But Winter was no fool.

Later, when talking to one of her “friends”, she found out that her lover didn’t act like a jerk when leaving school, laughing out loud with his friends and taking a guy’s ride to go home. (She was seriously considering sending Aurora after him too.) He didn’t seem stressed when she was not around.

Then she tried to make her homework, and the fact that she got physics done before her meltdown, self-harming and drinking was a miracle.

“ _Do you think I should talk to him?”_ Winter couldn’t care less if her “friend” was asleep. A bigger problem needed solving, and she needed someone used with feelings to help her.

The answer took a while, and three extra punctures, but it came nonetheless.

“ _Do you even sleep?” “Of course you should. Is there another way?”_

She raised her head, looking at the board. She always asked him not to pose for her, to act spontaneous, because his smile and his laughter were the purest when sincere. And even then the beauty she managed to frame was not even close to the wonder it was when seen personally.

How long hadn’t she seen that same smile?...

Winter was so slowly destroying him. Tears fell on the written pages before she gave up to tiresome and went to bed, reading her friend’s new answer.

“ _Look, everyone gets stressed at finals. He might not have done it on purpose. And, if he has, fuck him. Not in the pleasant way. You’re a great girl and you deserve better than a jerk.”_

She was suddenly glad they were not talking personally, because if that girl had called her man a jerk right in front of her, she would slap her face hard. At the very least, because if she didn’t repress herself… She was craving for blood on her hands, something she didn’

She decided to finish that glass of wine to cool herself a bit, because her “friend” only meant well and deserved a polite answer.

“ _Thanks. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” “I love him a lot, you know.”_

_“Everyone does, at least, in our classes.”_

Well…

She wished she knew all the implications of that statement.

Next day, she worked on her hand-made psychopath a bit harsher than usual, only stating they were running short on time – which was true. Winter only had three days before her deadline – the medium time she took to get rid of both Summer and Raven – and as soon as it came, it was likely to raise questions. To allow a bit of difference, she gave herself three extra days; any second past it was a problem.

Winter was starting to get anxious. She hated waiting for results, even when the results implied on risks for her; she just wanted to get everything _done_ as soon as possible. And the fact that finals were near for her too, and she probably wouldn’t be able to take them…

Thankfully, her hair was naturally white.

Winter’s arms were much better in the morning; punctures weren’t that hard to heal, and that was why she chose them instead of cutting. However, her muscles were still sore for the mistreatment, and it was bothersome to grab something and feel the pain.

Uniform and jacket on, because she _did_ get cold weather, she thought about her friend’s advice, her lover’s actions and decided to avoid Qrow for the day.

The mere thought was hurtful, but staying near him just to be rejected, ignored or left behind hurt even worse. If her love didn’t want her around, so be it; as painful as it was, he’d have his Winter-free day. But they would still talk in the end. She had to understand why he acted that way, and she craved for him all the time.

And time liked torturing her, because each class took the double of its usual time to end; when lunch break came, she almost walked towards her usual place and her lover, but her friends pulled her to the other side, and gave her a book to distract herself.

It didn’t work well; the words were mere black symbols on the page. She heard what they said, but it was all meaningless without him. The whole place was void of life if he was not around. She did not belong there. She belonged to him only.

A look couldn’t hurt. She raised her eyes from the book only to see red irises boring into her figure, and it took a few seconds for her to understand he _was_ looking at her, and he looked sad. As if he missed her. And the idea breathed life into her empty shell again; she wanted to pull him into her arms and comfort her lover…

She didn’t give herself time to indulge into it, though.

Good for her that time, as slow as it was, didn’t stop for no one, and eventually classes ended and they could leave. Never had Winter ran so fast on those ballerina shoes to wait for him at the exit, trying to actually read her book, but feeling too anxious for her lover’s arrival.

Which took longer than expected, and when he came, the corridors were mostly empty and few people remained on school grounds. Her man looked tired and was messing his hair absentmindedly, the black wristband very contrasting against the pale skin. Recognizing the walking, she approached him, a bit fearful.

“Qrow.” Startled, he looked at her with some incomprehensible mix of feelings into his eyes. “We need to talk... Please.”

“Ah, hi.” Biting his lip, he let his body lean into the wall, gracious and yet unpretentious. But, above all, tense. Very, very tense. “What is it?”

They felt like strangers and she hated it.

“Why did you act like that?” She cleaned her throat nervously, feeling like pricking herself all over again. “I mean… You’re never like that, and...” She couldn’t say she was worried about him, neither offended. One was too truthful (and at the same time, a lie), the other was a bit too rude.

Deducing Winter would keep her silence, he began:

“Look, it’s… Complicated, ok? I’m really sorry for the way I acted.” He almost left, but a burst of attitude and despair made Winter hold his arm before he was out of reach, despite the hurting spots blossoming again. Not yet. She had to know why, and that was no answer.

“It’s not just _complicated_ , Qrow. I think it’s pretty simple, actually. You were an ass. You have any idea how… How I felt after that?” She let go of him, internally impressed with her bravado. “I thought…”

“I’m not mad at you, Winter, please. Again, I’m sorry. Now…” Once again, he tried to leave, but she was harsher, slamming her hands by his sides, trapping him close to her. _Not yet_. If he left…

“Fucking answer me!” Her heart was turning pain into anger, and anger into actions. “You leave me just after I got there, with no farewell, and then the next day you just throw my hand away like a fucking bug! When I was trying to _help_! Why? Is it because you know I fucking love you?” A shiver took her and her head fell down. Strands of white covered her side vision.

“You know I love you!…” She whispered.

His expression changed from urgency, desperation and anger to pure shock in a matter of seconds; she kept staring at their shoes while the information sunk in. Hours seemed to pass before she noticed his sigh.

Winter looked up and her lover had his eyed shut tightly, his teeth gritted, and yet tears made its way down his face. Despite his attempts, his pain was so clear…

 “Qrow?”

“I’m so sorry…” He managed to whisper through shaking lips. “I never meant…” The white-haired lover pulled him into a desperate hug, both shaking, terrified with the perspective of what would change with that conversation, and taken aback by the outcome. “It’s _guilt_...”

She couldn’t answer; the mix of shock and pain was too much to react to. He continued, focusing all of his energy to maintain control and speak clearly:

“I was feeling so… Guilty... Because I made you cry at the cemetery and I heard you saying you loved me, and I could not… I…” Suddenly her lungs stopped pulling air in, her heart froze, and she waited. “I love you too, but not, not all of me… And it’s so guilt-tripping, the fact that I don’t love you back entirely, and the other person I love is dead…”

Winter broke.

The most painful heartbeat forced life back into her with his confession, that he _did_ love her, but he also loved the other, and it was so bittersweet, she let out a high-pitched cry into his shoulder.

“I am so sorry… That’s why I was a jerk to you, because… You unintentionally hurt me so hard and I might still love Summer, but I do love you so much I couldn’t react properly, I just… I needed time, and you were too close and you fucking _mess_ me…” He muttered curses into her shoulder as both let the truth sink in. “You made a fucking mess out of me and… I love you…”

He _loved_ her. Not only her, not completely, but he _did_. And, again, he condensed Heaven and Hell into only one moment and space, and it felt so masochistically good to suffer because of him…

Winter didn’t care for anything else. It was all she ever wanted, for him to love her, and she had it, in a way. She finally had him... And she didn’t want to let him go. She wanted to bask on the feeling and on his arms forever, and maybe even pull him into a kiss, her very first kiss…

But she didn’t want to rush things. Everything should be in a comfortable pace for him and it would be just too weird to kiss after crying.

“Thank you for… Being honest.” If it was only for that… She had so much to thank him for. He had healed her, entirely.

“Thank you for calling me out.” His touch was healing… Fingers traced a simple path down her cheek, leaving warmth behind. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She finally let him leave, feeling so free and complete. Her being was revived, pulsing with energy and love. All of his mistakes were forgiven.

She was the happiest girl to ever live.

Romantic music played on her car on the way home, and on her bedroom as well. She baked a cake simply because she wanted to, allowed herself a glass of wine to go with the dessert, she watched a romantic movie and cried a bit with it, and she kept fantasizing with her love in all the cute and romantic scenes on the film. Winter was the epitome of happiness.

By the time she went to Aurora, the girl was obviously wary of what she’d heard.

“What was that?”

“The day was a very productive one, and due to that, we have some stuff to take care of. So, today I’ll untie you and let you shower. Then later I want you to put your blindfold back on, as always, and we’ll eat and discuss things. If you try to run, I believe I’ll have to stay awake to punish you, naturally. Do you understand?”

Winter did not exclude the idea of Aurora being extremely resilient and a great actress, and remaining sane through all of the torture inflicted upon her so far; therefore, it was better to make sure she knew the consequences of trying to run away. She didn’t spend so much time on the girl to have her messing up at the end.

The younger one untied her victim’s wrists, ankles and body; pushed away the usual obstacles and followed their way out; one faster than the other, because two days straight without proper food and sleep were to mess one up.

She didn’t have to guide Aurora down the stairs, and neither to the bathroom (although she still did, with a knife to her pawn’s back, to make sure she wouldn’t run away), for they had repeated the process so many times the senior girl got used to it instinctively.

As she waited, her phone rang and _it was her love sending her a message._

Winter held back a happy pitched scream at that.

_“You’re probably asleep by now but hey, hope you’ll have a good night.” “I can’t. Have been thinking of you since I left the school.”_

She couldn’t stop smiling even if she tried.

_“Sorry for fucking messing you up.” “Can’t sleep either.”_

_“Don’t be. I love what you do to me.” “Guess there’s no use holding it back now after today, right?”_

No, there really wasn’t. Both had said they loved each other already, and even if both of them regretted it, they couldn’t do much – maybe pretend, but deep inside they’d know the truth.

So the best thing to do was to embrace it.

“ _Not at all.” “Hope you’ll sleep soon. We have classes tomorrow.”_

_“You’re the one to talk. Good night, Winter. I love you.”_

She was on absolute bliss and nothing could ruin it.

Eventually, Aurora came out, dressed on her kidnapper’s borrowed clothes and actually looking comfortable and clean. Only lost.

“Hey. I don’t know where you are.” Obediently, the girl had put on the blindfold.

She guided her scapegoat to the table and served her a piece of cake, to which the tortured one showed surprise and delight.

“This is delicious. You had a good day, if you’re allowing me cake.”

“Yes, but you know our time is running out. I want to see if you’re ready to leave now, and if so, I’ll instruct you on what we shall do next.”

“Ok. What do you want to know?”

She had to be clever. Questions were too objective, especially after using them the way she did on the process of mind shaping. She also had to pay attention; minimum details would define the difference between acting and genuine reaction. And evaluate how much of her actions were like hers; she wanted a psychopath, not a stupid, mindless murderer.

“Very few. You slept with Qrow before, haven’t you?” Her blood boiled at the prospect, but she couldn’t let it show, neither let the urges control her.

“We did. We will, again, soon.” Interesting answer.

“Was he good as your… Hm, how can I put it?”

“My _lover_.” The impact of the word was almost physical, and she liked it. “And he made wonders to me. Still does… The mere thought of him…”

Oh, Winter wished she could grab that golden, charming hair, smash her head against the white marble, hear the bones cracking and the blood dripping over… She pushed the needle against her thigh to ease the violent impulse, breaking through skin.

“Have you ever thought this is all he sees you as? An old fuck buddy, an _old lover_?” The idea was infuriating to the rich girl and she made it clear. But, as soon as the initial anger went out, she relaxed.

“Well… I did. More than once. And I love him nonetheless.” Part of the torturer was pleased. The other, the predominant one, lost the pace and buried the needle into her thigh madly. “He will love me once we’re back together. He can love me with time. It will blossom beautifully...”

“You hold such faith on your love for him? That it is so intense he will love you too, eventually?”

“Because it is.” She took her last bite of the cake before continuing. “It only grew as I paid it no attention, and now that _you_ helped me to stop pretending… I feel its strength. I am made of it, and for it. For loving him…”

Winter was mesmerized and furious. She took a sip of water; not only because forcing her voice to sound different strained her throat, but also because she needed to recover.

“Well, if you love him so much, how far would you go to have him?”

“As far as it takes and even further if he wishes.”

That was the perfect answer. She would have said the very same if someone did question her on it. She was perfect.

“Then I have a task for you. Because your future lover found someone to spend his time with, now that you are gone."

She proceeded to tell Aurora about herself, about how she loved Qrow, about their confessions on the corridor, all in (the weirdest) third person. She saw Fierce’s predisposition on killing her “rival” and liked it. Then she gave her their deadline.

“You have until this Friday, or even Monday, pushing it. Winter has to be rotting six feet under by Tuesday, get it?”

“It’s too little time!”

“It has to be enough, otherwise, their love confessions will become something more very quickly, if I were to deduce. I heard she’s planning on going out with him Saturday…” She muttered, and the idea didn’t sound bad. Her phone ringing, however, did. “You’ll have to take it, one way or another. So, better be planning on how to do it.”

Once she closed her room’s door, Winter could answer the phone. It was her father, and she was surprised, considering the time.

“Hello, Dad. I thought you’d be sleeping by now, aren’t you tired?” Her greeting was… Unusually warm for her standards, and her father sounded a bit confused when answering.

“ _Hello, sweetie... I should, but I was taking care of some last papers and… I wanted to… Give you some news. Well, we closed contract, the branch will be operating in seven months or less.”_ She felt his hesitation after her apparent good mood and felt sad for him. He thought she was only acting, as she did all the time, and, for experience, he didn’t believe he could have a true father-daughter talk with _her_.

He could only have those conversations with…

“ _And Weiss was incredible at her studies. She could have missed the entire last two months of her year and still would have passed.”_

“I’m happy to hear that, Father. Truly happy.” And she was. Her sister was such a prodigious girl, she moved to another town with their aunt and got a scholarship for a renowned school with a special focus on music, which Weiss loved. “I’ll call her tomorrow and congratulate her on this.”

“ _Well, yeah… You can wait and do that on person.”_

“Oh, yeah? Tell me more.” No, they couldn’t, not now…

 _“This is the reason why I called, actually… I was also doing my check-out online right now, I’ll get Weiss tomorrow and we’ll arrive home by Friday evening.”_ A chill ran down her spine. _“… I miss you, Winter, and I want to see you soon.”_

And suddenly the idea of almost dying the very same day her father would arrive was quite saddening and cruel.

She hoped that everything would go according to her plan and she did _not_ die.

“I miss you too, Dad. I hope Friday comes soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyy three nights with no sleep just for this. Love me everyone  
> So, I've read and edited this only once, because honestly I can feel my brain cells stabbing each other's synapses and if I go on any longer I might die due to lack of sleep. But I think it's pretty good, I drained it and fixed a bunch of dumb mistakes lol  
> Also I'M ON VACATION! So I might have more time to focus on this pretty thing and not cry over my grades (which were pretty good, thank you very much God and Jesus) #someonesavewinter  
> Bad news? I might have lost my point to make the Bad ending. I'll find a way tho. Somehow...  
> If you find any mistakes, feel free to tell me and I'll see you soon o>


	6. She's gone.

After her father ended the call, the girl took a few minutes to calm down and regain her composure. She did not expect her father to return so soon, neither Weiss (as she was supposed to stay with their aunt until Father’s return), and, sure, having both back at home would be interesting, but their _anticipated_ return was both interesting and annoying.

Interesting because she would finally interact with them while being able to feel emotions like they did; she would be able to bond with them, truly understand Weiss’ connection with Jacques (and vice versa) and experience what it felt like to care for someone in a non-romantic way (which was the only kind of love she had experienced so far). That is, _if_ she changed so deeply. But it would be nice to try.

And annoying because they were a restraint to her actions and plans. Most, if not all, of her scheming happened that carefree way because she was all alone, and had freedom to use the house the way she wanted. (Also why she could fill the rooms with pictures of her love.) Damn, the whole first part of her plan to fake her own hunting could only take place because none of them were around to question why she was leaving their house so late, and why she was dragging a passed out girl up to their attic.

At least her job was done for now. Winter just had to drop Aurora off, tell her how to do her hunting, clean whatever last evidences of kidnapping the attic and tools still had and lay back. Once those things were done, she could finally relax.

For a few days, until she had to start planning her victory against her new enemy. No, her _nemesis_. Aurora had the potential to be her first, true rival, one that could pair her in damage and threat.

That was why she had to be careful with what she said. Too many tips and she could get herself into too much trouble – from which she might not escape.

Winter put gloves on Aurora's hands and tied her hair up into a firm bun, so no hairs or digitals would get on her car. She double-checked all of her wounds and quickly cleaned her arms and legs to avoid blood. Once they were on the car, she began to tell her the basics of the hunt. That she should watch, and be patient. She should gather information and keep eyes on her prey constantly. Yes, she needed to be fast, but none of them could afford her being sloppy. Attention, care, and information. Above all, control. Control over her urges and over her targets.

When she was finished, Aurora didn't say a word for a few minutes. She was probably processing all the information, and that was fine, but what was not fine was the question she made.

"How do I know you're not using me?"

Winter felt her body temperature drop instantly.  
That was… A good question. One she did not want to answer, because it was risky. One she did not have an answer to.

She had been praying for her not to ask that.

"What do you mean?" She decided to play dumb and buy time. A wrong word and Aurora could start connecting dots…

"I mean that if I kill Winter and get caught, I will have no defense whatsoever. My love won't be a reason to the police, there will be no way I could point at you because I don’t know who you are, I'd go under arrest and be convicted for murder if I slip up, when you'll be out here, free." Silence took them as both fell under considerations. And everything got worse when she asked: "Is there any chance you're doing this to get rid of her… _And_ me?"

Fate had to be kidding. Was the universe hell bent on fucking with her?

"You won't go under arrest. It’s why I'm helping you; because it’s not what I want." More bullshit. "Listen, it'd take days for me to tell you why I decided to bring your true self to life to kill Winter. But all you need to know is that I want her dead, and you free. If you went under arrest, that'd be a bit of closure, and I don't want that." That was all she could think of. And, as if feeling its cue, the street of Aurora's house came into view and they soon parked. "We arrived. I'm eager to hear about your success, so please, don't screw this up."

She got out of the car and stood on the sideway, turned to the general direction of the car.

"And how will you know I succeeded?" Winter smiled.  
"A mysterious disappearance at a school will call attention, especially on a school that had recent suicidal incidents. It was fun to have you, Aurora. Good luck."

With that, she stomped on the accelerator and left her hunter behind. It was late night, almost 1:00 AM, and she was starting to feel tiredness biting at her edges. Her planning could wait a few hours of sleep; it would be better to give it some thought on the next day, when she felt rested.

All of her dreams were about Qrow; about his smile, his looks, his walk, his eyes, his confession, his quivering body on top of her, his hands holding hers as a wedding ring slid on her finger. It was all she wanted, all she needed to live and to be happy.

Her ultimate goal…

Once she woke up, the girl forced her body to stand and go down the stairs to fry some eggs and think of her plan's state. She turned on the stove and put on the frying pan, analyzing her three possible outcomes.

The first one, the most optimistic one, would be if her torture gave fruits; Aurora would prove herself as a valuable opponent, planning her steps nicely, but slipping up just enough to give Winter a chance to escape, or to be saved without major injuries and with enough evidence to get her rival arrested. And, for being such a perfect outcome, its chances of happening were very slim. But she considered it anyway.

The second outcome, the most possible, was the one where Aurora didn't turn out as good as Winter needed, more like a C student; doing just enough to make it work out. She could spy, chase, and even corner her, but it would be too weak to be considered a threat. On that case, either someone would save her before much (or any?) damage had been done or she'd be able to defend herself too easily; maybe even murder her, tell the police she was just defending herself when the other’s head hit the floor. That could work.

While that was a better ending concerning her physical integrity, the reason why she was doing all of that was to fake being hunted as well. If Winter got out of it mostly fine, then her plan would be a failure, or her goal would barely be reached. However, there wouldn't be much to do if it happened.  
And the worst outcome. The one where Winter died.  
Honestly, it made her mad that such an ending was possible, but slip-ups were becoming something common for her. Still unforgivable, but common; perhaps that was why cops claimed "there was no perfect crime". She was finding it too hard to take care of everything and _not_ leave a flaw pass unnoticed.

And the next, just as the best-case scenario, it had to be considered, no matter how small the chances were.

If, somehow, Aurora managed to become better than her own maker, plan everything so flawlessly, take care of all loose edges, she could corner the Schnee girl in a situation she might not escape. If she won their game, then it would be a _permanent_ game over to Winter.

She would die.

Something started to bite the edges of her mind. Dying, the idea itself brought forward no fear, no despair, no madness. It was an end, like everything had an end; it was only natural she did, too. Other people dying also brought her no emotion, unless it was someone like Summer or Raven; girls jeopardizing their happiness. Then she took all joy from it.

But dying now that she was so close to finally going further with her and her lover’s relationship-

 _Qrow_.

Her very light. Unlike her, he was a regular man; suffered with death, felt pain if his friends did, grieved when losing someone close to him. Like he had been for one month or so; consequences of her actions. But that was not much of problem, because she was always there for him, to help him heal, to hold him and be sure he wouldn’t fall apart beyond repairing.

The problem was that, if she died, then _her love would be alone. Grieving for her too._

It could be pretentious, but it wasn’t much to assume he’d feel bad for her death as well; he had confessed his love for her recently, hadn’t he?

Oh, God.

He _loved_ her. Like he loved Summer. His pain would be in double _and she wouldn't be there._

Taiyang would, but, _fuck_ , it would still take months for him to recover; that would be reopening wounds that were still fresh, and their friend could _never_ do for her man what she could. Not even taking the love part into consideration, Qrow was already feeling pretty bad; if another one of his friends died, if he had been realizing those “coincidences”… What could it do to him, mentally, emotionally? Would he become paranoid? Would he blame himself?

His grief was one thing. His grief when she was not there to make up to him, for causing him that pain, became another thing, much worse.

One that crushed her with guilt. Even though he was her reason for all of that, she had forgotten to consider him on her plans; and now she needed to work twice as hard to make sure it wouldn’t happen and she wouldn’t hurt him once more.

Or just ignore that part at all. Like she had done the first times; then, when the damage had been done, she’d deal with it. Wasn’t it what she had done? But wasn’t it harmful for him?

Whatever she did, however she proceeded, Winter would not lose, not when their happy ending was so close and so much work had been put into it.

The smell of burnt eggs were what brought her back and made her focus on making her breakfast again, with newfound resolution. She would soon be making him breakfast; very soon, she hoped.

After she was finished, Winter flew herself to the car and drove as fast as she could to the school; since she fell in love, she always tried to make it there early, only so she could spend more time by his side. Now, she also had to consider her rival, and try to split time between being with him and analyzing her as much as possible if she wanted leverage to win.  
But, as soon as she arrived, what she saw was quite the painful yet curious scene.

Aurora was already there and she was talking to Qrow in a very enthusiastic way; it was almost scaring. The way she threw her hair and smiled and her eyes almost _glowed_. She hoped to God she didn’t look like that when talking to her lover and, trying not to look creepy, she pretended to be distracted with her phone while walking over to them very slowly.

"Are you sure you don't want to go? The ice cream there is pretty good, and we could use the excuse to take some home to eat while studying."

"I'd love to, Aurora, but I already have some plans for Saturday. Maybe Sunday?" Aurora's mouth curved into a grimace with his rejection, but the question made her smile again.

"Aaaah, Qrow, thanks!" The blonde then pushed herself to her feet and whispered something on his ear; their proximity made Winter forget she was trying to be discreet and almost barged in.

Thankfully, at least, her love saw her, his previous face of tired anger broke and his eyes glowed with relief. Aurora pulled back seconds later, and only then Winter saw his hand between both of them, an attempt to keep her as distant as possible.

"Hey, Aurora, hey, Qrow" She said softly, as if Winter hadn't been torturing the girl for the past weeks and her crush for the guy wasn't blatantly obvious. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all, Ice Queen. Also, are you going to be free this Saturday?" Before Winter's brain could even form one answer, before she could even scream inside because _her lover was inviting her to a date?!,_ the other girl just pushed him aside brutally and went to her.

And hugged her.

"Hi, Winter!" Although Aurora was older, she was smaller than Winter, so it was kind of awkward to be pushed back and stared at the eye like what Aurora did. "Thank you so much, again, for bringing me my earrings. They have emotional value to me, so..."

Her voice was so sweet, it made her stomach churn.  
"Oh, no problem. I would like people to give me back what I lost, so it’s only fair that I do the same, right?" Both of them smiled empty smiles. "Why were you gone for so long, by the way? It's been, what, two weeks?"

"Oh, heiress things. My father thought I was misbehaving too much and piqued me up for some… Tutoring on our business." The ease she lied with was almost astounding. Had she been thinking of an answer the entire night? She had said it so naturally Winter almost believed it. "You understand, right? I mean, your father owns a pretty big company too..."

"Uh, I actually… I gave up on my inheritance. The company is no longer mine." Aurora's eyes seemed to process something on her words. "I never had any interest on it."

"Oh. I was actually expecting we could talk more about it… But, alas, it seems like I lost my chance." Her smile still made her stomach churn.  
What was that small talk? Was she pulling strings already? How was it that their companies' inheritances would help on her hunt and-

"Well, failed diplomatic meetings aside, I called Qrow to study with me Sunday. Why don't you drop by? You might be one year behind, but you're smart, and everyone knows it..."

Oh.

There it was.

Aurora's plan.

To have both on the same room and analyze how they behaved around each other and interacted with one another. Her small talk was also a way to gather information from her. Smart girl, she was making moves already.

One bad thing of trying to hunt her own huntress was that she’d have to submit herself to the other’s analysis in order to do some of her own. (Unless she could deduce what Aurora was trying to find out; then she could dodge her questions.) But that was a nice dance of skills, too. The best one was the one who would thrive.

"I could, but… Qrow." He immediately raised his eyes from his phone upon hearing his name. "Would it bother you if I went there to study with you two?"

The last word was his. Whatever he said or wanted was her order and guiding law. If he said yes, then she'd submit herself to Aurora's schemes. If he said no…

"We are going to study on Saturday already, Winter. Take your Sunday to rest."  
Funny thing was that she had never said she _was_ free on Saturday to study with him.

Relief took her, but there was something switching on Aurora's eyes that just pointed out how much she hated his answer.

Could his reason be because he just didn't want them on the same room? Or did he want to be alone with the other girl for… Other reasons?

"Well, whatever you say. See you two later, then!" She waved at them and departed, hips almost breaking with the absurd amount of sashaying. As she left, Qrow approached her.

"Hey," He sounded careful. "Are you mad?" Winter's eyebrows automatically frowned upon the statement.

"No? Why would I?" His ashamed smile was simply so beautiful to gaze upon… Qrow turned to the general direction the blonde had followed, her golden hair gone from their sight.

"Well, let it be known that… I just don't think you two could work out. Aurora is…" A sigh. "Forget it. Let's go in, classes are almost starting."

She did not. That actually made her question his reasons even more. But she should figure it out soon, surely.

"Hey, Qrow?" She called as they walked in together.

"Yes?" He was expecting her to say something, not her hand wrapping around his warmly. As he looked to her, Winter smiled.

He smiled back and she was sure that was heaven. Her legs grew weak and she swore to do everything on her power to protect his smile.

"Have a good class."

"You too, Ice Queen." Then their hands let go of each other and they left to their classes. Winter's hand felt cold and frail without his.

The rest of the classes went out normally; at lunchtime, both of them sat next to each other, more than ever, and their arms brushed and their fingers intertwined. Taiyang didn't say it, but the way his eyes sparked and he looked at them said he did notice it, and approved of them. Aurora was on the plaza as well, but she didn't seem to be paying attention. Did she really take her seriously?  
Then she went home and things got wary.

It was barely 7 pm, she had just got there, was heating her dinner on the microwave and was about to text her father about how they were when she felt something strange. That instinct made her look out the window.

There was a car there.

Of course, it wasn't weird at first, so she didn't bother much. Cars would park around all the time, naturally. She continued to do her things, and the car left after some minutes. She relaxed; there was no problem. The deadline was the next day, anyway…  
She texted her father and finished her dinner without worries, and then the car came back. Black, sleek. It was not Aurora’s, she was sure. Aurora’s car was white.

Had she hired someone? Winter went to the kitchen, intending to grab a knife; but if she was a regular girl, she wouldn't have been suspicious. Covering her actions by grabbing a regular knife and an apple, she bee lined towards the living room.

Ten minutes later, a little clink on the window.

She looked and there was nothing. Winter ignored; another clink. She frowned. That was an ambush, she was sure; but would she go out there unarmed? And was Aurora’s plan so simple? Was she so dumb?  
An intelligent girl would go out there with a offensive object if she was afraid of something, but not a knife. Her father had a baseball bat by the drawer’s side; she ran upstairs to grab it, but as soon as she got there, her door cracked open.

What would she do? Her best option was to continue running for the bat; and then what would she do? If she did hire someone, they would-

 _No_. She was thinking as herself; she should think as a regular girl. But how did a regular girl think?  
_Screw it._ She grabbed the bat and turned to return, but the person was already there. The clothes wouldn’t let her tell the physique, but the stature was Aurora's. There was a ski mask hiding their face and sunglasses hiding their eyes.

"Go away or I'll call the police!" The person didn't flinch nor said anything; instead, they continued to walk towards her…

Then stopped. And pulled out a small cylinder, then a cloth.

_A gas bomb._

The person was quick; in seconds, the object flew her way and all she could do was dodge it. As soon as the cylinder hit the ground, the gas was released.

She tried to cover her nose and mouth with her blouse, but it didn't help much; the smell burnt her nostrils and her brain started to get foggy. The assailant was able to pull the bat from her easily, spinning it and hitting her on the stomach, then on the head, throwing Winter on the ground.

She hadn't even tried to defend herself…

The person's shoes appeared on her field of vision, and that was the last clue it was Aurora.

Black, high heeled boots.

So she had managed to conceal her face, her body and find a gas bomb to knock her out. And it wasn't any kind of gas, it was something good; could she have got it with a doctor?

The person bent down andtook off the sunglasses; instead of lavender, broken eyes, she saw deep emerald irises.

Her lips moved, mimicking one "sleep well" and leaving. The hair was hidden; she couldn’t tell which color it was.

_Clever bitch._

It felt like sleeping, and sure she did her job to look like Winter had, indeed, slept. Everything was organized and tidy, not one thing out of place. The living room was in order, the bat was back to its original place (how did she know?), there was no cylinder left and the only proof of her invasion was the dark bruise on her stomach and the swelling on her head. Nothing was missing, though...

Friday. Her father had texted her, saying that he'd arrive during her classes, so she shouldn't bother; she felt okay, and Aurora didn't seem to have done much. So the day would be fine, she assumed.

On the way to the school, Winter decided to tell her love about the invasion. He would be on high alert and could even be a leverage to help her escape, if it happened of Aurora’s definitive attack being at that evening. Also, Qrow would be worried about her and it would be cute, if not heartbreaking. Maybe both.

As she got there, Qrow and Aurora and Taiyang were discussing something; Tai standing, Qrow sitting and Aurora by his side. Their friend looked like a guard, crossed arms and serious-looking. She couldn't see her man’s face, but the girl’s face was pure, forced innocence.

"Oh, Winter's here" Still the same sickening smile. "Hello, sweetie. How are you?"

"Hi" She said, fainting timidity. "I'm a bit… Troubled." Tai smiled and passed one arm around her, hugging her tight.

"Well, how can we help?" The pressure hurt her bruised stomach, and she was thankful for the cue.

"Ugh!..." Immediately their expressions went from their original states to worried ones. _"Well…"_

 _"Winter?"_ Qrow practically jumped from the bench. "What's wrong?"

"I… My house was invaded last night. The person attacked me, and…"

"Winter!" Oh, his rage. That sent shivers through her body. "Are you ok? Do you have anything to find the culprit?" She denied.

"Qrow…" Taiyang sounded worried, afraid, tense. They traded looks and some sort of dark understanding was found between them.

"You… You two think it was who killed Summer?" Mouths into a frown, none of them looked into her eyes. "I… I don't want to-!"

"I won't let it." Her lover said, his one hand sliding down from her shoulder to her own. "Not this time."

"Yeah, but… What can we do?"

"She can stay at my house." They turned over to Aurora.

"Uh, why?"

"I'm just giving her an option, goddamnit." She shrugged. "Winter, I wanted to call you for us to talk. And now that you need, I can help you. Just putting two necessary things together."

"Oh, Aurora, I don't want to bother. Really. I won't be alone tonight, anyway." She told them about her father's arrival and that seemed to put them at ease.

"Well, I still want to talk to you later, ok?" She smiled.

"Ok." And they continued to talk normally, just a little tense, until the bell rang and they stood to leave for their classes.

Then she heard Qrow pulling her to the side. It was just an annoyed grunt, "come over here!" and more angry whispers. She couldn't figure out what they said, but he looked really pissed off, and she looked really calm and chill.

Unfortunately, she had to leave; whatever it was, she could figure it out later, prying it out of Aurora.

During classes, she tried to figure out their next steps. It was impressive how easily everything had moved on; probably the entire thing would be very flawed, but well. There was nothing she could do but to roll along with it. If she would really attack when they met to talk, then she ought to be prepared to defend herself.

What really bugged her was Qrow. Since Aurora came back, he seemed to be bent on not letting them stay near each other for too long; when she offered her to stay at their house, he told her not to, and if their angry conversation was any indication, he was really mad that she wanted to talk after class. Why? What did Aurora know?

Well, Winter didn't really care. She just needed to find a way to lure him to the place near their meeting to avoid any worse outcomes, and to serve as witness. After that, everything would be done. She was still bugged with how fast it had been… But it would end soon.

How deceived she had been.

When the time came, as soon as she stepped foot out of class, the girl showed up.

"Hey! Come on, let's talk."

"Uh, can't it be over the phone? I have to-"

"Don't worry, it'll be very quick!” She pulled Winter firmly through the path they were meant to do. They went through various classrooms and even got out of the building.

She hadn't seen her lover anywhere. Where was he? Where was Tai? How would she-

Aurora continued pulling her, until they reached the gymnasium.

"Uh, Aurora, the gymnasium is locked at this hour…"

"Hehe, not for me." She pulled out a key and unlocked the door as if it was nothing. Winter’s blood got cold; how had she got the key? What had Aurora done in such a small space of time? How far had she planned?

The space was very isolated from the rest of their school; it was just like a regular school gymnasium, with all the smaller equipment kept on a small storage room by the side of the main area. _A good place to throw a body_ , she thought creepily, as Winter realized the next day wouldn't have any PE classes. She would be buying time by throwing her there…

"So. You and Qrow." The smaller girl started to fumble on a black backpack resting on one of the benches. "Are you two fooling around?"

"What? No! We are just-"

" _Oh, we are just friends, blah blah blah, I would never fuck him_. Spare me." Suddenly broken eyes looked a little more vivid, and she stood on one bench above the ground, gaining leverage. “Everyone sees it. Not only you are in love with him, but he's pretty head over heels for you.”

"... Oh." To play dumb was her usual game. "So… What is the problem?"

"The problem is:" She jumped in front of Winter, making her step back. "You are no good for Qrow. _I am_."

…

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me. What can you do that I can't? And I bet there are a thousand things I can do that _you_ can't." A bitter taste came to her mouth and she fought her urges to attack the girl."

"Give me an example, then." Aurora smiled and stepped back a bit, body so slender and charming she had to admit, they would make a hot pair. But not as hot as her and her beloved bird.

Then Aurora bent forward a bit…

And flew back.

Over and over and over again, doing numerous flourished leaps and moves. When she stepped foot into the ground, one of her legs raised up, making a perfect vertical front suspended split.

Goddamn.

"I doubt you have this flexibility." She made various spins back and stopped right in front of her. "I can be the perfect dedicated wife for him. I speak three languages, I sing, have an entire company, I know what he likes on the bed, he could use my body all night… I mean, Qrow would live an easy, luxurious and filled-with-love life. And we've been together already, we already know of our perfect match. And you? What have you got?"

Without wasting one second, she refuted: "His love."

She was taken aback by the answer, firm and angered. Winter did not stop, though:

"That's seriously incredible that you can do so much. I can't do half of what you can. But do you think that changes anything? In the end, Qrow isn't looking for the woman with the best attributes to be a wife. He'll choose the girl he loves, and according to you…" Winter shrugged and turned around, ready to leave. "I'm very sorry for you. Good luck, though, if you still wanna try."

Six steps away, she felt the girl's hand yanking her back.

"Don't you walk away all smug like that, bitch!" As soon as the girl turned around, Aurora slapped her, the noise loud and skin burning for the agression. "Listen, we're doing this the easy way or the hard way. But you're not staying with him."

"Well, then you're insecure!" The other took a step back. "What are all your abilities if he doesn't love you or you don't trust yourself to conquer him? I'm not backing up. My intentions were never to romance him or anything; the way is free for you. However, you'll have to try. I won't just push him away because you want me to." She grunted to express her anger. _Isn't she going to…?_ "I have more important things to do. See you Monday."

Again, Winter turned around to leave. Every muscle of hers was tense.

"I know where your father is. And your sister." Again, she stopped. "I know where he'll work here, I know where she studies. He's returning today, isn't he?"

A hand at her back stopped her from turning again.

"How- You don't."

"Mozart Prep High School. Diamond Tower at St. King’s street, 10th floor, room 107." Her blood went a little colder. She had nailed it. "I also know where your aunt lives, your father's company financial problems, your sister's grades and that you have an entire board covered with Qrow's pictures, even ones through his window, at his own home. That's some stalker level shit. Maybe… You're not that different from me."

"Y _ou_ invaded my house last night?”

"... Yes. I did. I know much more as well. And I can pay people to do anything for me. So, are you convinced? Or do I have to make you an orphan for you to give up on my man?" Breathing in, her fist clenched and flew at the girl's nose.

In return, there was a sharp stab on her thigh.

" _Bitch!"_ Aurora stumbled back, knife in one hand, the other holding her face. Blood dripped from between her fingers slowly. Winter looked down and the deep, long wound on her leg made her snap and the pain broke through shock. A pained yell and she dropped onto her knees, pressing the flesh with a shaky hand.

She was tackled to the ground, her head hitting the floor and making her dizzy. The girl stood on top of her stomach, crazed eyes staring down at her and the blade rose, already blood red.

" _I'll kill you now_!" Only reflex and fear made her dodge enough to avoid the knife, steel meeting the ground and making a loud, frightening noise. The object rose again, but as her fist came down, she stopped it.

Struggle grunts came from the two as blood dripped into Winter's face and her leg bled.

"This isn't where I die- AH!" Aurora's fingers dug into her wound and she let go. Still, her head moved out of the way, blade only managing to scratch her cheek. She tried to hold her wrist again, but the attacker had enough of her defense attempts and pinned her hand down, then stabbed it once and firm. Winter cried out, the good leg kicking her on the back.

" _Stop_! The more you struggle, the worse it'll be!" Her long golden hair was pulled with the one good hand, and Aurora yanked the knife out of damaged flesh, pinning the other hand away and pushing the knife down into it. More screams. "I'll cut your throat to make you shut up!"

Yet she didn't. She twisted the blade inside her left hand, and Winter was moaning and crying out of pain. She was feeling dizzy and her mind was fogging out by the time Aurora turned her around and stabbed her still good thigh once, twice, three times. Then her arms' muscles were also stabbed. Then she yanked most of her white, long, beautiful hair and started to cut it out with the knife. She felt each strand being sliced.

 _My phone… On my pocket…_ Her love's number was the very first on her list. She slowly moved her hand, flesh screaming out in protest. She had to, she had to call… Her fingers slowly invaded the pants' back pocket and...

Another hand entered the pocket and the phone was pulled out. It had been on silent mode, and...

"Daddy's calling!" Then the phone flew away and hit the wall, breaking in a million pieces. "Too bad that first I'll stab your body, cut your nerves so you won't run, then I'll drag you to the equipment closet and cut your clothes and gut you out, then I'll-"

"Qrow... " She forced her voice out. "Will hate you… Forever…"

The weakness she felt gave it up: she would die. Her legs could barely hold her weight, wounded as they were; neither her arms would be able to drag her away fast enough to leave her attacker behind. The blood loss and the hit on her head were incapacitating her ability to act; the only thing keeping her awake was the adrenaline, and it was running out.

The statement made her stop for a bit. Then the knife dug into the higher flesh of her waist. She could barely scream.

_I… Failed…_

How ridiculous was that end. She had barely put up a fight. She had planned badly. She had done too little for his love.

She wouldn't even see him before she died…

 _Qrow Branwen… My love, I'll await you forever…_ Another sharp pain at her forearm. _I am yours only_ … She sincerely hoped that he found happiness, even if it didn't involve her. If she found a way, then she'd be his guardian angel, his everlasting company, staying by his side… Even if he didn't know.

Winter's mind gave up as the knife aligned with her throat, before she heard it.


End file.
